Housebuilding: Week "who is counting anyway?"

I think that we are officially on week 14 of this housebuilding process, but seriously.  Who cares?  What matters is that progress is being made over here at the Smith plantation.  Tyler keeps referring to it as Dozen Acre Farms, but honestly, it doesn't look anything like a farm.  Okay maybe a little, it is just missing the huge gardens, berry bushes, fruit trees, and any animals of any kind.  Other than that, yeah,  we can call it Dozen Acre Farm.  Hey!  We have a woodshed!!

I am pleased to announce that the weathertight shell is one door and one window shy of completion.  Just in time for the hurricane.  As some of you may know, our biggest window was damaged in shipping, and after a very long stressful week the company has finally agreed to replace it.  It is scheduled for delivery this coming Tuesday.  The final door is a second story door and was ordered 2 inches too tall, so I had to order a new one.  Which is now on site and will be installed this coming week.  After this week our stressed builder can move onto being stressed somewhere else while we continue the battle with others.  

 Barry the Plumber started his engineering this past week, and as long as you don't mind that swiss cheese look the work is coming along nicely.  Our insulators should be here soon which has Tyler in a tizzy trying to wrap up the last of the wiring and other odds and ends.  When we built the other house; this last week before insulation and sheetrock were called crunch week as Tyler, John and I (some nights), were at the house until 10, 11 or midnight.  At this moment, thankfully, it doesn't look like this week will be that bad.  Actually, I just thought of a couple other things that need to be done before the drywall so I will get back to work and let the pictures speak for themselves.

The workshop/mudroom/kitchen ell

the upstairs hallway looking through the walls to Eli and Siah's room.

I give you: A Basketball Team!

As you are well aware naming a new child is a huge endeavor.  Especially when your other children have such FABULOUS names.   We attempted not one, but two online polls to see if our decision could be made a little easier, and although I think it helped some, it did not grant us the solution.  So going into our fifth labor with our fifth boy Tyler and I were still unsure of an appropriate name. 

Boy Smith #5 was born exactly 1 week early (by the doctor's prediction), 1 day late (by mine), and barely on time (by Tyler's).  The birthing experience can only be explained as exactly what I would have thought a normal post first baby birth would be like.  You know, light contractions of 12 hours, intense contractions for 2 hours and then 45 minutes of "why do I keep doing this to myself?".  The problem for us was mostly that because the past 2 labors were so quick we were scared to leave the hospital because of a very real fear that I might deliver at home, in the car, or somewhere else in between.  

Thankfully, our midwife was also very nervous about this and once we arrived at the hospital she wouldn't let us leave.  So we spent 5 hours or so walking the floors back and forth and back and forth.  Which wasn't so bad as Eli was with us and having a great time and we had great visitors.  And as expected when we got past that weird early labor stage (something I hadn't experienced since the birth of Eli),  we progressed very fast and on Sunday, August 21st at 11:44 PM Boy Smith #5 was here!

He weighed a huge 5 lbs 8 oz and was a whole 18 and 3/4 inches long. Can you believe I was nervous that he would be big?  He is an incredible combination of his four big brothers with light red hair, a Josiah turtle head, and the always popular button nose.  And his name?  Matthias Brian Smith.  Which means, of course, "named by mommy".  Actually, Matthias (pronounced ma-TY-is), means "gift of God" (which considering our past 2 years seems incredibly perfect, and altogether true).  Brian, as a middle name, was an easy choice as my father's birthday was last week and is in fact called Brian: Meaning strong, high and mighty.  So there you have it: our little high and mighty gift from God!!

P.S.  For all of you hardcore housebuilding enthusiasts.  I am aware that I skipped week 13, and I do plan on doing a house update this coming weekend in which I will cover both week 13 and 14. 

Contentment Is...

• Watching your 7 yr. old enjoy riding his bike around the house just like you did when you were a kid.
• Delighting in a 4 yr. old's sudden strength for independence.
• Realizing that your unfinished house already feels like home.
• "Green Eggs and Ham" being read in a little voice.
• The overwhelming presence of God amidst obstacles
• Goodnight kisses for "baby brother" from 4 big brothers.
• "Beautiful Places" in your backyard created by four beautiful and creative minds.
• Friends who call to see how you are doing.
• Living with a 5 yr. old gentleman who takes off his hat, and bows to you while saying "Your Majesty".
• Peace when your children are happy, content, and exhausted from a day of work.
• Thankfulness to the Lord for his incredible presence, love, and blessings revealed everyday.
• Sharing the Joy of a 2 yr. old at the return of a loved one.
• Adoration sons have for their fathers.
• A parent's love for their child being made perfect through Jesus Christ.

Housebuilding: A Complete Dozen!

12 is a wonderful number!  For one thing, it is how many acres we own, and when one makes 12 muffins that leaves 2 for each of us.  How perfect is this number!  In our exhausting journey of building this house we have completed week 12.  Regardless of the amount of weeks it has taken to get here; I am just glad we have arrived to a place where the weathertight shell of our house seems to be in sight.

The view out of the kitchen window

Eli standing in his and Siah's bedroom.

Housebuilding: Week 11

Roofing is a big deal when it comes to housebuilding.  Not only do you have to pick a color, but you also have to decide if you are installing asphalt shingles, metal shingles, or just plain old metal roofing.  My preference?  asphalt shingles.  I am kind of boring in that regard.  I like the traditional look of the shingle.  The color and composition of the shingle lends itself to different hues and depths and can be very soothing to see.  Metal roofing, however, is simple, plain, and often overwhelmingly one color.  

So why did we install metal roofing?  Cost.  The cost of labor associated with putting on asphalt shingles would have been high.  Not to mention the complaints my builder would have given me.  I am getting quite upset with attempting to dodge complaints.  So when it came to roofing choices the choice was made by "what is cheap, durable and won't make my builder complain like an obstinate old man?"  Obviously the choice is clear.  Or in this case red, much redder than I thought it would be.  I am optimistic that this color choice will look great with the brown cedar clapboards, much better at least than it does with that traditional Maine gray Typar.  

Humor

Everyone has a different sense of humor.  When I met Tyler he quoted monty python and talked about his family watching SNL together.  I, for one, found the idea of watching SNL repulsive.  The crude comments and rude skits always seemed like a pathetic attempt to make people laugh.  Obviously our sense of humor did not seem to match.  He loved the stupidity involved with Monty Python, Get Smart, and The Pink Panther.  I seem to prefer a drier humor.  What seems to be a bit odd to me is that regardless of our difference in this area not only did we get married, but I remember finding Tyler to be quite funny when we were dating.  His jokes and comments were very humorous to me, and they still are.

Now that we have been married for 10 years our sense of humor has seemed to meld into one.  Tyler's days of watching SNL ended long ago, and I have learned to appreciate some of the humor in the new Get Smart and Pink Panther movies.  I started thinking about this the other day when Tyler said something; I laughed, and he apologized for his dry humor!

A typical conversation between Tyler & Lori:

Tyler:  I like the name Ezekiel for the baby.  We could name him Ezekiel Onslow Smith.  EOS.  Then you could call him our little rebel.

Lori:  I don't think so.

Tyler: It would be great. We could tell him to "Man the Canon!!!"

Lori:  HAHAHA,  I don't think anyone else would understand that.